Thoughts and Opinions wanted..

[ex-88LX]

Ok heres some mind candy for you.

I used to drive a 1988 honda accord LX, (5 speed, carb). It was my first car and its drove wonderfully, seems as though 160,000 miles haven't even budged it. But like everyone, it happens sooner or later, i managed to wreck my honda, by rear ending someone. The jerk mashed their brake and i happened to not be looking for 0.02 seconds. =| The car was running after the accident, and i didnt hear any odd sounds, even after the accident (it was ONLY 30 mph) it was still humming nicely.

The problem is, the radiator was leaking fluid, the radiator mounting cage is really bent up, the battery went dead, the hood was bent, thats all the damage that i could see. I've had the car beside my house for about two months now and i recently bought a 95 dodge neon to get me to and fro work.

Heres where i need your thoughts: Now that i have reliable transportation to work and where i need to go, i can do one of three things with my honda, i can sell it for parts, fix it then sell it, or turn it into a project car. Being 20 years old, i still want a *fast* car that i can use to have fun with. What do you think i should do? If i do turn this car into a project, how expensive is it going to be as compared to the performance i can get out of it, in other words is it worth the money, or would i be better off just scrapping it out? I'm willing to put in time and effort into this car, i still love it and i miss driving it. Also, is the fact of it not being fuel injected hurt its overall potential?
I can't deciede if i should just put some minor performance parts on my neon to give it some extra spice, or should i just go all out with the honda. I did some research calling salvage yards looking for prices of parts to just fix the car, and i got it down to about 150 bucks to get it running again. Assuming that thats all of whats wrong with it, i don't know for sure if thats EVERYTHING, but thats all i could see and hear.

give me some feedback, i'm stuck as to what to do.

[PsychoPaul]

The big question is. Is it worth it for you. What kind of importance does this car have for you.

Personnaly if i was able to have two cars i would keep the accord as a project car. Money should not be an issue. Because we all know cars are money pits. But hey we love them anyway. And 150 to get it back up and running is nothing! Considering it might cost me 2400cdn to get my frame fixed.

What you should do is calculate how much the car cost you. how long you have had it. How much money you have put into it. Then calculate how much it cost you per month. If you can live with that then fix it.

Anyway i could go into this forever but i'll stop here...

[TINBOAT]

It all depends on how far you want to go with the car...if the Rad support is repairable or not, headlight buckets and stuff like that can get costly...small stuff adds up. But if you have the time and a few bucks to do it properly, go for it.

there is a reason you see ALOT of 3rd gen Honda's on the road...but I just cant recall seeing any older Neons running around, but they sure are overpopulating junkyards across America...hmmmmm.....

[Justin86]

yea Neon suck so stay with the accord. It is an LX so there is some mods you can do for free that will add some power but they will not pass emissions. If you don't have emissions there is a good amount you can do ot the carb.

[ex-88LX]

The car definitly has some sentimental value. Its always been reliable and its always been fun to drive. I'm working two jobs at the moment, and my first job is more than enough cash to pay for my neon, while the second can pay for the honda. I live in Kansas and have never been, seen or heard of anyone being pulled over for any emission related violation, nor have had a vehicle tested to pass emissions. I mean "straight pipe" and "farm truck" go together like bread and butter.

Yeah i wasen't too hyped about driving a dodge neon but hey, for 800 bucks and it runs straight, i wasen't complaining. I was borrowing a vehicle before.

the only thing i've actually done to the car was change fluids, oil filter and air filter, just routine maintenance.

I think i will keep it and rebuild it, so i'll be frequently visiting this amazing wealth of knowledge for tips and help on those knitty gritty details. If you got anymore feedback on anything i've mentioned, be sure to post it, i'm always open to opinions

[NXRacer]

well, there are parts available now to make your accord freakishly fast. You could spend up to a couple grand depending on how far you want to go. A LOT of people on this board are into making these accords go fast so there is a LOT of information on how to go about this.

The big questions you gotta ask yourself are:
1 - how much money do you want to spen?
2 - how much expertise do you have in working on cars?
3 - what are your goals?

If you dont have DEQ and dont want your car to be super fast you could go with a webber carb upgrade. Your best option though would be to convert to EFI which can be a pain in the ass, but its well worth it. After that you could go turbo, n2o or N/A if you want. Look around and check out your options available and go from there.

[ex-88LX]

I was afraid of converting to EFI, but i suppose it can be done with enough time and patience. My goal in rebuilding my accord is to make it scare the hell out of me when i stomp on the accelerator. Thats my goal, i was just curious if that goal is anywhere near realistic.

[Justin86]

well if you want to do that got to have EFI. The swap isn't that hard to do but it is not cheap and can get extremely fustrating some times. Take a look at this site www.accordcentral.com

[lightbulblxi]

if u really like the car, fix it, it will make a good sleeper, cuz neons are gay.

[mattalica]

Screw the Neon.Keep the Accord.Like Tinboat said "not a whole lot of Neon's runnin' around".The EFI swap will definately do alot for your performance.Although I own an 84 2gen 4dr lx and it kinda hauls ass...for what it is.Stock that is.

[EvilPenciler]

in teh words of kroy Pimp out the family pop ups

[ex-88LX]

hmmm heres an idea:

Doing an engine swap from another vehicle and using its EFI would be more time consuming yes, but i'd have a stronger engine AND fuel injection..

[accordlxi2.0]

and with efi you can do more than what you can do with a carb.
plus it's more reliable it help's in the long run.

[ex-88LX]

I think thats what i'm gonna do, i'll just check under the engine swap section for information on finding a diffrent motor and the parts needed to convert my current set up to EFI depending on the motor

[Justin86]

I think thats what i'm gonna do, i'll just check under the engine swap section for information on finding a diffrent motor and the parts needed to convert my current set up to EFI depending on the motor

Stick with the B20 or the B16, those are the best swaps for the money.

[Wrenchman]

I buyin an 88 accord lx so yeah what to do for starters that's not too bad on the wallet? Aside for oil change , plugs , wires etc...

[TotaledTL]

8 yrs. ago...